I’m all about doubt, questioning one’s self, and the nature of reality. Certainty is my enemy - Anthony Bourdain -
Doubt. Unfortunately not just a fleeting feeling; it's a relentless cloud overhanging that follows and grows, rarely subsiding.
Yet doubt, in its own twisted way, is the necessary evil to forge ahead on untrodden paths.
“Chips on shoulders build chips in pockets”
But why am I doubtful? Take your pick: why/how will I self golfwear? Am I adding value to the world? Who the fuck am I to take this on?
I originally planned to launch on December 1st. Before the chaos of Christmas. Leading right into the glorious summer. But obviously, that’s been pushed back.
Mid-January is probably 50/50 right now.
There’s doubt about the products. Doubt about the marketing strategy. Doubt about my doubt even.
But, I think my antidote to doubt, is flipping it and confronting it not with logic, but by being utterly illogical:
"It is much easier to be fired for being illogical than it is for being unimaginative. The fatal issue is that logic always gets you to exactly the same place as your competitors. Dream a little. It's your competitive edge. ~ Rory Sutherland ~
Logic. The destroyer of creativity, spontaneity, and all good things.
It demands respect in moments but can be thrown to the wind in others.
So if I’m ever gonna charge through that cloud of doubt, being illogical might be the light that guides me through.
When I do finally commit, the covers are off. Putting a stamp on it and absoluting sending it. There is no getting that genie back in the bottle.
Until that genie is released though, I’ve got a fuck tonne of sample sourcing, testing, and marketing strategy to get on top of!
“it's not what you get out of life that counts. Break your mirrors! In our society that is so self-absorbed, begin to look less at yourself and more at each other. You'll get more satisfaction from having improved your neighbourhood, your town, your state, your country, and your fellow human beings than you'll ever get from your muscles, your figure, your automobile, your house, or your credit rating”
Since I’m sharing a bitta inspo and vibes I’m chasing already, I wanna share a huge influence on my overall direction.
Ignore the clickbait title, because this video is so extremely based.
99% of success advice is for normies who are okay with settling. And I was not okay with settling, so I followed the 1% batch of crazy advice. Warning, if you don't have an open mind, you're going to think this video is crazy
The too long, didn’t watch summary:
Focus on earning more and not saving or spending less. Instead of thinking, how can I save an extra 100 this month? Think, how can I make an extra 100 this month? Because making money is a lot harder than saving it.
Realize that you don't get like an assistant or a house cleaner or, you know, employees when you make X amount of money. Getting those things is how you make X amount of money. Because outsourcing frees up your brain and frees up your creative energy.
Words are spells. I realized that my negative money talk was manifesting in real life.
Rich people have nicer but less things. You will feel so good and so luxurious and your actions will follow.
Lower your stimuli. Put your phone in black and white. Don't watch the news. I haven't watched the news in probably a year. You'll Don't doom scroll. Sit in silence. Meditate. Do yoga. Mindfulness. Lower your stimuli.
Have a why. I was in a job where I was treated unwell, and I couldn't leave because I didn't have the money. Money gives you options to leave bad situations.
Everything is an investment. What you read, who you hang out with, your biggest asset is your attention. Invest it wisely.
You need a fallback. You can't make good decisions in survival mode, and this is why I failed in entrepreneurship in the past several times, because I was always in survival mode because I didn't have a monetary fallback.
You have to take massive ownership of your situation. Massive. Say it with me, my life is a direct result of my past actions. If you don't agree with that statement, you've already taken the L. Sorry. And I know what you're gonna say. “I'm not responsible for blah blah blah blah blah this horrible situation I am I was in. I'm not responsible for where I come from”. Of course, you're not responsible for that. But you have to take responsibility for it in order to move forward. I know that fucking sucks, but you have to.
Don't spend money on things just because society says so or your culture says so. Basically, just question everything.
Get out of the consumerism mindset ASAP. Unfollow all brands. Rip the labels off shit that you buy. Unsubscribe from brand emails. Shop at brandless places like the farmer's market.
You will be successful if you believe you can be successful. And you will fail if you believe you will fail. It's your choice. ~ TikTok Lady ~
So before I launch, here’s my to-do list:
Order and get more samples for potential polos I’ve currently got the one simple polo with 50 qty ordered. Pros: Versatile for my screenprinting so can always do different designs, great material for summer, wide appeal. Cons: I don’t think it’s bold or out there enough “if people don’t hate your product, how will others love it?”
Get ahead on marketing I’m a slacker on marketing. I lose track of time. I struggle with the consistency. So I want to get on top early and have a backlog. Plenty of shit to work with so I’m not running around like a bulldog with its balls cut off when it comes time to release the genie.
Caps I’ve done 2 samples now. The second sample I fkn love. But again, my doubt is in 5th gear and I’m hesitating on pulling the trigger for the 50qty MOQ. “Have I just slapped my brand on a cap and expect people to buy?” - “Is the sizing right?” - “Are the details on point?” “How the fuck am I going to ship this?”
Build the website 50% done already through Shopify. This part isn’t worrying me overly. Small wording and aesthetic choices are eating away at me though.
Sew tags Collar tags. Arm tags. On both polos and tees. Whatta fucking time sink lmao. I keep putting this off.
"A big secret is that you can bend the world to your will a surprising percentage of the time—most people don’t even try, and just accept that things are the way that they are. People have an enormous capacity to make things happen. A combination of self-doubt, giving up too early, and not pushing hard enough prevents most people from ever reaching anywhere near their potential." ~ Sam Altman ~
So I’ve vowed to start altering my own world.
I am the master of my own universe.
God help anyone who stands in my way
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure--these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it, and that is how it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It's life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. ~ Steve Jobs ~
And so I ask myself every morning…
Why? Why not? Why not me? Why not now? ~ James Allen ~
